Nepal Nar Phu Valley Trek

Nar Phu Valley, Nepal · Nepal

Extreme15 daysAsia~£3,000 est.

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Overview

The door to Nar Phu is a slot gorge off the Annapurna Circuit at Koto: a day of cliff-hung trail through dripping rock, and you emerge into a high desert valley that was closed to outsiders until 2002 and still requires a restricted-area permit and registered guide. Phu is the far prize - a fortress village stacked on a defensive ridge at 4,080m, where life runs on yaks, barley and the prayer wheel, and Tashi Lhakhang gompa keeps centuries of unbroken practice. Nar, a day south across ammonite-strewn hillsides, is greener and busier: medieval alleys, chortens banded in ochre, and blue sheep on the slopes above - which means snow leopards are up there too. The exit is the trek's crescendo: the Kang La at 5,320m, a hard pre-dawn climb rewarded by the entire Annapurna II-IV wall filling the horizon, then a long scree descent to Ngawal on the Annapurna Circuit. Acclimatisation drives the itinerary - you live above 4,000m for days - and accommodation is simple homestay and basic lodge, so carry a proper sleeping bag. October-November and March-April are the windows. Around £3,000 covers the full permit stack, guide, and two weeks door to door from Kathmandu.